Linking urgent humanitarian aid with long-term development assistance will be central to a first-of-its-kind Trust Fund organised by the European Commission to mobilise international donors in the Central African Republic (CAR).

In Brussels on May 15th 2013, an international donor conference, organised by the European Union and France together with Mali and entitled “Together for a new Mali”, mobilised €3.25 billion of financial commitments and pledges for that country. Capacity4dev.eu looks at how it has been possible for the EU Delegation to Mali to continue to carry out development projects in the face of a security crisis.

Over the last three years, Marcus Cornaro worked as Deputy Director General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). Before taking up his new post as Head of the European Union Delegation to South Africa, he spoke to capacity4dev.eu about his views on development, the problems we’re facing today in the neighbourhood region, the migratory crisis and his hopes for his new post.

Emerging from over two decades of conflict and instability, in May 2002 the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste became the 21st century’s first new sovereign state. Since then the country’s government – with assistance from the international community – has worked hard to lay the groundwork for development. In this month’s Views from the Field we hear from both the EU Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Sylvie Tabesse, and Hernâni Coelho, Timor-Leste’s Foreign Minister, as they discuss Timor-Leste’s successes and remaining challenges.

Located in Central Africa, Chad is a landlocked country recovering from conflict. While it has stabilised itself in recent years, Chad still faces many challenges, from conflicts in neighbouring countries resulting in increased migration, to the rise in popularity of Boko Haram. Denisa-Elena Ionete joined the EU Delegation to Chad last September, as EU Ambassador and Head of Delegation. In this interview she outlines the EU’s priorities in Chad and the challenges the Delegation faces when implementing them.

“One of the most important messages that I have today is that we need to understand that the life of a conflict is much longer than it seems on the surface. That’s why we have to listen to the first signs. Whether it is a conflict, a disease, or a humanitarian crisis. We pay such a huge price of waiting so long [to act],” said Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Kristian Schmidt has been working as Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Uganda for almost three years, following many issues including the 2016 elections. In this month’s Views from the Field he discusses the conflict context, and how Uganda has successfully handled an influx of 500,000 refugees from neighbouring countries.